FINLEY -- Members of the Finley community rallied around one of their own when Abi Hamlin fought for her life last year.
Now, they're doing it all over again.
Hamlin, who had been in remission from acute myelogenous leukemia since late summer, is again battling the disease.
After weeks of not feeling well, the River View High School senior returned to Seattle Children's Hospital last week.
"She went in and they did a bone marrow spinal tap. Sure enough, leukemia cells were there," said Andy Clayton, a science teacher at Finley Middle School and Hamlin's softball coach. "They're called 'smart cells' because they kind of hide and outsmart the chemo. Her body's not producing new cells. They're original leukemia cells."
Hamlin is expected to be in Seattle for a year, Clayton said. She is undergoing chemotherapy, and once she is back in remission, she will need a bone marrow transplant.
"They only have a 30-day window once she goes into remission and it's confirmed," Clayton said. "They are flat-out moving, getting the donor there, prepping the donor, doing the paperwork. When you're thinking about it, 30 days is not that long."
With Hamlin back in the hospital, "Team Abi" is revving into action.
After Hamlin was diagnosed last March, River View students and staff wore orange to school in support of leukemia awareness and participated in fundraisers for Hamlin's family.
Even opposing softball teams made gifts for Hamlin, and a Columbia-Burbank student held a concert fundraiser.
Now, the plan is to get Hamlin's health back.
Her cousin Jared Johnson of Finley helped start a Facebook page devoted to getting people on the Be The Match Registry, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. He's hoping to find a match for Hamlin.
The "46 Too Many" page -- 46 children are diagnosed each school day with cancer, according to the American Childhood Cancer Organization website -- is connected to a link so people can start the registration process.
"Last year, we had a bone marrow drive for Abi and someone else who needed bone marrow at our elementary school in Finley," said Johnson, a River View junior. "My mom kept in touch with a representative at the bone marrow registry, and they have a website that allows people to register. They gave us our own URL so it counts for us, and our goal is 1,000."
The page was established Wednesday night, and Johnson and his relatives hope for an unprecedented response.
"The reason I want 1,000 people is it's never been done before," he said.
One in every 540 registry members in the United States eventually will donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, according to the registry website. Donors must be between the ages of 18 and 60 because cells from younger donors are most likely to be successfully transplanted.
Those who sign up through the registry will be mailed a registration kit with cotton swabs that are used to swab the inside of a person's cheeks. Once the kit is mailed back to the registry, the swabs will be used to help find a match.
Once a match is found, there are a few more steps to determine whether a registry member is the best match for a patient, including testing, an information session and a physical exam.
If all steps are cleared, the process is simple.
Marrow can be obtained in an outpatient procedure through which liquid marrow is drawn from the back of your pelvic bone.
Another procedure is like giving blood.
"They hook you up to a machine, they take blood out and get the cells they need and put the blood back in your arm," Johnson said.
The end result could far outweigh the brief discomfort of a needle in your skin.
"You're registered," he said, "and you can save a life."
How to help
-- Register to be a marrow donor through the ''46 Too Many'' page at join.bethematch.org/46toomany
-- Gas cards also are needed for Hamlin's family to travel between Seattle and Finley. Cards can be brought to the River View High School main office, 36509 S. Lemon Drive in Finley, in care of Deputy Joe Lusignan of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
